Rooster_Ties

Well, for what it's worth, I really enjoy most of the Joe Henderson Milestone box. Some sessions are better than others, but I still get stuff out of nearly all of it.

Nothing earth-shattering. I passed the flip-file of discs around and let people pick what they wanted to hear. Steely Dan and Eurythmics were requested and enjoyed by all. Then the two people in the back of the van had books-on-tape on their MP3-players, so just the driver and myself listened to Death Cab for Cutie, and about 30-minutes of my Blindfold Test. Later I put in Lee Morgan's "Standards" but there was a lot of conversation going on over it, which was fine - it worked OK as background music. I did get a request for the Korngold symphony (when I explained who Korngold was), but that only lasted about 5-minutes before people said it wasn't like what they thought it would be. (Not sure what they were expecting, but I never ask.) Could be an entirely different group in the van I'm going back in - we'll see.

Just saw this... Dude, I got lots of esoteric tastes in pop/rock. In fact, THAT'S entirely the problem with trying to select music for 26 hours in a van with co-workers, you dig? The selection you see above is THE absolute most "lowest common denominator" music I could find. What would you have me take, my German language CD versions of Peter Gabriel's 3rd and 4th self-titled solo discs?? (Yeah, that's right, the GERMAN language versions (PG singing them in German) are the ONLY versions of those two albums that I own -- and no, I don't know why that happened that way.) Sure, I don't have the greatest collection of pop/rock CD's ever (maybe 400 pop/rock discs at most, and probably only half of them are even worth a damn at that -- cuz half the pop/rock music in this house is stuff my wife likes too) --- vs. probably 1,000 jazz CD's, and probably 2,000 classical CD's. I won't defend my pop music collection, but it in NO way sucks as bad as my musical selection for this trip appears to imply. I've got a ton of Hendrix, all three volumes of the Beatles "Anthology" series (but not one single "regular" Beatles disc), lots of Bjork, and Elvis Costello, etc... And for cripe's sake, the only Floyd album I own is "Animals", and I actually own Neil Young's "Trans" on CD (for better or for worse). My trouble (as far as programming music for this trip) is that I don't own all that much "popular" pop music from anything older than about 1980. I was born in 1969, and I got WAY burned out on "Classic Rock Radio" as a kid (late 70's, early 80's), and won't touch the stuff.

Rooster doesn't have anything even remotely similar to 'folk' (never got that bug I'm afraid), or else I'd bring some of that. And a good 50% of the non-jazz discs I am bringing are junk that I haven't listened to in years, or never listened to in the first place (I'm one of the keepers of the books and CD's for our church's annual used book sale). Why else would I have ABBA, or -- perish the thought -- an Elton John tribute CD. Or, well, the crappier half the non-jazz discs I'm taking. Crappy though many of my non-jazz selections may be, they're the best I could do with the access I had.

out of curiosity: does that have some jazz aspect to it? (all i know by Korngold is an opera i once saw, liked it a lot but it sure wasn't "jazzy") Not really. Just a great Neo-romantic symphony that I think people not familiar with Classical Music could possibly connect with. Reminds me of Barber at times.

Dan's right, of course, about bringing as much "popular music" as I can -- so I'm one step ahead of you, Dan. FYI, a strong majority of the people where I work are women, average age probably about 40 to 45. So, here's all the pop/rock I'm bringing (and already had packed before I even started this thread)... ABBA - Greatest Hits (Gold) Beatles - Love (the new mish-mash thing, sort of a Greatest Hits) Blondie - Greatest Hits (Best of...) Death Cab for Cutie - Plans (their latest release) -- stupid name for a band, but GREAT music Eurythmics - Greatest Hits Evanescence - The Open Door (their 2nd album) -- think Jim Steinman's "Meatloaf"-type material, but with a female singer The Fixx - Greatest Hits Ben Folds Five - Reinhold Messner (their last album before Folds went solo) Peter Gabriel - So Genesis - Greatest Hits (Platinum Collection, Disc #1 - the more recent 3rd of the 3-disc set) Don Henley's - Greatest Hits (Actual Miles) The Impressions - This is my Country / The Young Mods Forgotten Story Elton John tribute - Two Room, Celebrating The songs of Elton John and Bernie Taupin Billy Joel - Songs in the Attic (live collection of deeper album tracks) k.d. lang - Ingenue Sarah McLachlan - Fumbling Towards Ecstacy The Police tribute - by Modern Rock artists (forget the title) R.E.M. - Greatest Hits ('88-'03, Best of WB years) Snow Patrol - Eyes Open (their most recent release) Steely Dan - Greatest Hits (Gold) Sting - All This Time (live in front of a studio audience "career overview" type thing) Tears for Tears - Greatest Hits U2 - Joshua Tree The Rainmakers (Kansas City band from the 80's) - Tornado (1987) Bob Walkenhorset - The Beginner (lead singer of The Rainmakers, and a personal friend of mine) Steve Winwood - Greatest Hits (Chronicles, just his solo-work - so no Traffic, Blind Faith, etc...) Then the jazz... Nat Adderly - Saying' Somethin' Miles - Kind of Blue Diz & Bird - Townhall Russ Long tribute - Time to Go Brad Mehldau trio - Day is Done Monk and Trane - Carnegie Lee Morgan - Standards Pablo Ziegler 4tet (w/ Stefon Harris) - Tango meets Jazz Rooster_Ties - Blindfold Test, Disc #1 Korngold - Symphony in F-sharp (yes, that Korngold, the movie-soundtrack guy) 13-hours in a van is a LONG time.

And you forgot in your calculus that the organization does this EVERY YEAR, and the trip is essentially mandatory. But in defense of the people that came up with this crazy idea -- the organization is a collection of what could have been "one-person" (or "two person") not-for-profits all unto themselves. But instead, all organized together as a 'collective' under one organizational "umbrella". So, 51 weeks out of the year, the amount of interaction between the people at work is often fairly minimal (perhaps 10 or 15 hours per week at most - or often even less). For instance, I'm in the office with any of these people only about once-per-week, and working elsewhere the rest of the time. So, it's not like we're all sick of working with each other all the time, like it would be in a conventional organization. That said, 26 hours is still a pretty long time in a vehicle with the same people. Oh, and just to clear this one up... The place we're going to is owned by the organization itself -- so the cost for the week is next to nothing, except for transportation and food costs. I don't know the details, but the trip is as dirt cheap as one could ever imagine. Think "summer camp" circa 1970 - and you're not far off.

Would have to be an RVG, since it's already been released domestically before (as a McMaster, if I remember correctly). Would seem like pretty good odds it would eventually be reissued as an RVG. At least 50/50 odds within the next 3-5 years, I would think -- maybe even slightly better odds than that, perhaps.

Hi all, Leaving on Monday morning at 6am, so that's in not much more than 24-hours for now. This is my 2nd year going on an annual week-long planning retreat for everyone in the non-profit organization I work for (a small 20-person operation). The retreat is in Grand Lake, Colorado every year -- which necessitates two 13-hour drives from Kansas City (26-hours round-trip). Last year I packed too much obscure music that people didn't know, and there wasn't enough interest in the music I brought in order to turn the volume on the car-stereo enough so people could really hear it much. So, this year I'm erring on the side of MUCH more familiar tunes (so that means LOTS of pop "greatest hits" CD's, which I won't bore you with). BUT, for the JAZZ CD's I'm planning to take this year, I've narrowed down my choices to the following (which I could even narrow a bit further perhaps)... Miles - Kind of Blue -- of course, how could I not take this one. Miles - Sketches of Spain -- hard not to like this one either, but I have run into a few people that don't care for it. Eddie Henderson - Time & Spaces (2004) -- a brilliant "trumpet + piano trio" album, a tiny bit "out", but not really ("electric Miles"-ish for people that wouldn't like "electric Miles" - Eddie doesn't plug in on any of this, but they do cover some some "electric Miles"-ish material. Diz & Bird - Town Hall -- Bebop, but/and there's a good story to tell about the recording itself. Monk & Trane - Carnegie Hall -- another good story about the recording. Russ Long - Time to Go -- recent local (KC) tribute to local great Russ Long (and he's on it too, his last recording), with a TON of musicians I know personally (including our own Free For All!!), blowin' VERY strong on some accessible material, in a bigger "small group" context (four-horn front line). Pablo Ziegler Quartet - Tango & All That Jazz (w/ special guest Stefon Harris) -- a rather fantastic live tango album with a jazz attitude - and the guitar-player is electric for a change, in a sort of "Grant Green" kind of way. (Every other "tango" group I've heard or have recordings of has acoustic guitar.) Now, THAT's what I've already got packed in the CD flip-file case (everything up above). Here's what I'm ALSO toying with taking... Woody Shaw Concert Ensemble - Berliner Jazztage -- these arrangements and the playing both kill me every time. And while my wife doesn't exactly "love" it, she tolerates this recording as well as any jazz stuff I ever play (particular with sax, which she doesn't really care for much). Brad Mehldau - Day is Done (2005) -- one Radiohead cover, two Beatles covers, a Bacharach cover, a Nick Drake cover, and a Paul Simon cover - plus a handful of originals. Some solo piano, but mostly his most recent trio (with Jeff Ballard on drums), and not all the tunes are long and drawn out. Nat Adderley - Saying' Somethin' -- 'Side one' is kind of a big-band thing, and 'side two' is all small-combo - so that's some nice contrast and variation right there. Some tunes people will know too: "Walls of Jericho", "Satin Doll" (in a very 'poppish' arrangement), 'Cantaloupe Island". Side one is mostly shorter tunes too, which probably is a plus. Lee Morgan - Standards -- The Conn from early 1967, all Duke Pearson arrangements. Very approachable and "tasty" without getting to 'in your face' about it. Any other suggestions, or do any of these sound like a recipe for disaster?? Riding out I'm in a vehicle with three women, all of them probably in their mid-40's to mid-50's -- none of them specifically jazz fans, but probably as open-minded about music they don't know as anyone in the general public (anyone without a huge interest in music, I should also say). No idea who'll be in the van I'm in coming back. (I'm sure I'll revisit this topic in future years (as long as I work for this organization), so here's a thread for me to do that in annually.)

Thanks for including Dialogue in the proceedings. Certainly half an "Andrew Hill" album (at the very least), by any measure. (Or at least IMHO.)

Might clarify if you've got the earlies Japanese import, or the more recent domestic version. The Japanese one's a mini-LP (I think), and the U.S. one is in a jewelbox. (There are also three alternate takes on the U.S. release.) Edit: Either way, let me be the first to say what an outstanding album this is. Anyone here who doesn't own it, probably ought to.

The videos all just link to Youtube stuff, so that's no different that what goes on here day in and day out. And the audio is all streamed from the site, from what I can see. (Supposedly you can download actual files, but those links don't do anything that I can see -- or at least not that I can get to work). Look before you delete, Jim. The harm here is minimal, afaic. (This ain't no dime.)

Holy crap, I'd completely forgotten about having posted this (above). Never the less, I just found this thread while searching for the subject of tattoos on this very board -- because, of all things, I'm (still) toying with the idea of getting a tattoo, perhaps for my 40th birthday (coming up in March of 2009). And going on four (4!) years later, I'm still thinking of some sort of architecture-related design, particularly something Sullivanesque (having to do with the style of Louis Sullivan). Maybe a continuous band (design) around my forearm. What I need is some help in determining what kinds of architecture-related designs/motifs would look good in two-dimensional form. I do have a good (and skilled) artist friend who could maybe help in that area. And come to think of it, she also has a keep interest in architecture. Any advice from any of you to a "first-time, never-had-a-tattoo-before" kinda guy like myself??

This is the first time I've ever clicked on this thread (and I'm not reading the thread either), but I had to come here (or somewhere) to say -- is it really fucking necessary for CNN to have this in big "BREAKING NEWS" red letters at the top of their site????? A judge orders Paris Hilton back to jail, CNN confirms. She was taken from court screaming, The Associated Press reports. Why in the world would this be news?? - or at least of the variety that would merit some huge-ass "BREAKING NEWS!!!" type announcement.

Now THAT might actually be interesting.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AEMj8RCZqtw

Depends on the music. A Blakey or Jimmy Smith date is one thing... ...but Gould and Jarrett should have learned to stick a sock in it. TOTAL blasphemy, I realize -- but I'd take the rerecordings via the bastardized computer process over the grunts and mumbles, any day. But that's just me.

Same premise as the "Greatest Blakey Trumpet Album, best Messenger trumpet work ever" thread (which can be found HERE), only for SAXOPHONE!! The ground rules there (now modified for sax) stated... My quite serious pick would be a toss-up between the following -- both with Billy Harper... The second date is also a live recording (probably recorded in Europe, or so I've read here and there) -- different recordings/tunes too (with slightly different line-ups) -- and both recordings are from 1968. Good sound quality on both -- even "rather good", IMHO. These are my all-time favorite Blakey JM recordings, hands-down. And 90% of that falls on the shoulders of Billy Harper's contribution to these recordings. Damn!!!

I'm paraphrasing, but this is pretty darn close to the original (also heard in that same Streetside Records location in KC)... "Our aunt just died, and for the funeral we're looking for a recording of a slow, moody, brooding version of Blue Suede Shoes -- played on organ." "Where's that section?"

So there are just five(?) Conns this time, right?? (That's all I'm finding on-line.) They've mostly come in batches of six in recent years (if I remember correctly), unless one of them was a double-disc (like Chick's "Complete 'IS' Sessions). BTW, was the Complete 'IS' Sessions the only CONN that was a double-disc??

Has anbody here ever heard the Clark Terry "Varitone" Impulse date? Has anybody here ever played a Selmer Varitone sax? Or (personally) know someone who has? (paging Jim Sangrey) Thanks!

WAY more than I ever knew about The Varitone "Electric Saxophone" source

Google is my friend... Review from AMG... Other opinions of this?? Shame it isn't on CD (or at least the AMG doesn't think it's ever been on CD).

OK, Sangry posted this earlier (an album I probably just have to get now - )... ...and that got me thinkin' about electric sax and trumpet. Rather than constrain the topic to any one particular thang, I just thought I'd open up an "electric horns" corner, and see what happens. Which came first, electric sax, or electric trumpet? Was Miles the first to record on electric trumpet? (I think I answered my own question down below -- look for the Clark Terry album cover.) BTW, I'm pretty sure 'electric sax' doesn't just mean one particular setup either -- what were and are the most common options?? (meaning both historically, and currently). Same question(s) for 'electric trumpet'. Anybody here have experience playing either one? I think my personal exposure to either instrument is mostly various electric trumpet things (Miles in particular, but some others here and there, mostly imitating Miles 20 years after the fact -- well, that, and Eddie Henderson of course, back in the day). The only electric sax I've ever heard is maybe Eddie Harris' "A Tale of Two Cities" originally issued on Joel Dorn's Night Records label in 1991. (Been years since I've heard it, but I think I remember there being some electric sax on that record.) That, and there was a local jazz band here in KC years ago (Boko Maru), and the leader/sax-player had some kind of chorus/octave electronic thing he could connect to his tenor sax (I don't recall him using it on alto), and it would play a triad/chord of some sort based on whatever note he would play. Either that, or it would play in octaves too (if I remember right). What recordings should one have if one were to want some good examples of electric sax, or (beyond Miles, of course), of electric trumpet??